The Central African Republic’s (CAR) armed forces are being armed and trained by Russian military experts. The initiative comes a year after Russia achieved a partial lifting of the arms embargo on the Central African country from the United Nations Security Council, All Africa reported.
Five Russian military and 170 civilian instructors have been sent to Bangui as well as an assignment of small arms and ammunition. The instructors are training members of CAR’s armed forces (FACA) in combat and the handling of weapons in a training centre in the city of Berengo.
The facility is equipped with a fire complex with a multi-purpose shooting range, tactical field, a site for conducting comprehensive training with an observation tower, a combat point, a full profile trench and a target installation.
Since March nearly 2,000 people, including 128 officers, have been trained as machine gunners, rifle experts, police officers and gendarmes.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has also signed a decree to send 30 troops to CAR who will join the UN peacekeeping mission in the Republic - MINUSCA.